New Release: Connex HD Video Downlink 3000FT $1599.

[SleepyC]

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Hey guys, I've been talking to a few guys from this company and this looks to be the REAL DEAL!
3000 feet LOS (1000M) Tiny... and .... $1599!!!!! And .... You CAN use ANY flight control you want!!

CONNEX by Amimon is an innovative Wireless HD link for professional UAV drone applications, and for the FPV enthusiast looking for the ultimate HD FPV experience. Leveraging Amimon’s leadership in the wireless video market, CONNEX brings broadcast HD video quality and robustness standards to the rapidly evolving UAV aerial video arena.

Designed from the ground up for UAVdrone applications, CONNEX packs theperformance, form factor, interfacesand reliability required for getting the job done; anywhere, anytime.

Up until now, true, latency free HD FPV has only been a dream. The Connex Wireless HD link brings us to the next level with its zero latency, full 1080P 60fps wireless video transmission. Can you imagine flying FPV in real-time full HD? Now you can make it a reality with the Connex Wireless HD link.

All professional UAV HD applications now share the same requirement – a robust wireless HD video downlink.CONNEX, delivers excellent HD image quality, zero latency, and the highest levels of robustness.CONNEX employs Amimon's revolutionary HD video technology,widely regarded as the industry standard in the broadcast and cinematography markets. It's 5GHz radio, 2x5 MIMO and automatic channel selection ensures resilient connectivity, free from interference, specifically from UAV controls and 2.4GHz links.

The zero-latency transmission offers live, real-time imaging for FPV, broadcasting, inspection, and mission critical applications. CONNEX’s multicast feature supports four screens simultaneously, each receiving perfect HD images.Simply Plug-and-Fly!
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Key Features​

• True full HD 1080P at 60fps​
• Up to 3,300ft/1,000m range (LoS)​
• Zero latency, real-time video​
• Extremely resilient 5GHz. digital link with AFS​
• Encrypted and secured​
• Built-in OSD view (MAVLInk based telemetry)​
• Gimbal control over Futaba ® S.Bus​
• Plug-and-Fly, out of the box setup and operation​

Applications​

• Aerial video production and cinematography​
• Real-time HD FPV piloting​
• Industrial and commercial inspection​
• Surveillance and security​
• Real estate assessment and supervision​
• Search and rescue​
• First responder situation evaluation​
• Crowd control​
• UAV enthusiast recreation​

​

Mounted to some rigs!
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To Preorder go to GetFPV​

 

[Darson Hall]

Wow zero latency, any flight controller, under 2K. Wait a sec isn't it almost April Fools. Hope not...

 

[E-Copter]

It is absolutly not a fake

We have been testing the system with Amimon engineers, marketing manager and tech support manager end of january, and this thing is awesome ! Even if it was not recommended to do so, we could not help and used the Sbus port to fly a Little Spyder with a Naza V2 to check about the latency and you can fly the machine really well, gimbal control on a Zenmuse is perfect also and has been tested with Lionel Barbe from " MyDrone" in Fance, who is pretty picky about these things, he just loved it ! We had to ask him his feeling about it as i'm picky about everything technical / range / integration but i sure do not have the " eye" of the Photographer so some extra help was needed... Thanks Lionel if you read this

Just a small precision, to get the Sbus working, you need a 14SG or FX22 or 18MZ and switch the trainer port of the controller to 16 channels in order to get a SBUS2 compatible signal on the trainer port. Latency is 1ms, and if there is more it's more about the camera HDMI output than anything else.. The Sbus output of the Connex was working with Naza, A2, WKM, Pixhawk even, and of course with GCU of Zenmuse gimbals, i did get it working with Alexmos boards, G Lock 2 BL gimbal system ( check it out at NAB...), and it should work with Phobotix and Align gimbals. We will be testing the Sbus on the Movi end of this week and will let you know how to works but well, Sbus is Sbus so there should not be any problems...

Some cameras output sometimes might not work properly in some modes , but the results with a simple GO Pro 3 Black editions are stunning ! GH4 works also, but not all output modes as the GH4 does for some hdmi recorders (under investigation by Amimon actually).

The Telemetry port is working with Mavlink protocol and works out of the box with a 3DR Pixawk APM based controller.
We have flown up to 700 meters with no issues at all.

The fact that it works in 5 GHZ allows to keep the regular 2,4GZ controls and you can choose to control the gimbal with the Connex SBus or with regular operator Tx in 2,4 GHZ. for safety reasons, it is NOT recommended to use the Connex as the main TX/RX system for the flight controller.

Some more work is been done at Amimon at the moment on some little things and you can visit their both at NAB show for more informations.

For French forum members who might read this post, Amimon appointed the sole distributor in France who is Studiosport company.

In order to use the unit on the Zenmuse GH4, we used the optional light bridge HDMI cable for Zenmuse Nex gimbal. You are of course limited in pan movements ( not more than one turn each direction) but some rumors are running about.... bah, we will see when it's no more rumors..

A XT60 plug is provided to power the Tx and you can hook it up on one free XT60 port of S900 / S1000 or use a separate lpo ( 3 to 6s but will work at 8V so with a healthy 2S works also..)

I want to thank Stephen for the news announcement on this great forum and also Amimon for letting a small company like ours to test this awesome product and work with them, this has been a great time !

We have been very surprised to see how Amimon was involved in the development and testing of the unit, putting a lot of resources available and sending their people to our place to test the product and modify firmware / software on the fly during the tests, this was impressive and awesome !

When the unit is out and available, if i can be of any help on the forum just let me know and i'll help as far as my knowledge allows it, and Amimon has great support team ready to rock !

To install the unit on a S900 or S1000, you can add a small carbon plate under the battery tray or use the provided small support to fit the unit on one of the tubes. Some antennas bracket supports should be available when the product will be released.
You can of course install it on any frame that can handle a small 130 grams additional payload.. )))))

OSD can be switch on / off with a simple push button on the Ground unit.

Last thing, it has a USB port and a software to set a few options, and supports firmware upgrade for future functions / compatibilities.

Hoping these few informations help

Best regards,
Fabien

 

[Cameraj]

Wow, sounds great

 

[eskil23]

$1599 sounds expensive, and 130 gram is a bit heavy.
I didn't find the output power of this thing. How many mW?

 

[Carapau]

'$1599 sounds expensive, and 130 gram is a bit heavy.' April fools right? You know how much a Bolt Pro 2000 is which is no more capable?

 

[gael]

Great ! Thanks Fabien. I hope you will make a review on mk-fr also.

 

[ovdt]

Fabien,

Are you using any other HD downlink system like Amimon's Skylink or Bolt Pro 2000? What's the range you get with stock antennas with this product? I use Skylink HD pro and I can't get over 150 meters range with stock antennas. ( http://kopterworx.com/shop/paralinx...nk/hd-skylink-pro-5ghz-tx-rx-sdi-version.html )

 

[eskil23]

'$1599 sounds expensive, and 130 gram is a bit heavy.' April fools right? You know how much a Bolt Pro 2000 is which is no more capable?

I'm not fooling anyone today. $1599 is more than what my whole hexacopter cost, lock and stock.

 

[Timtim]

Defo for real and we will be testing a beta unit next week. Here's a pic of our mounting test

 

[E-Copter]

Hi Tim, nice to see you here

For the questions about range and others :

- Range : we achieve 750 meters in France with 25MW. This unit uses MIMO technology. Normal power ( USA and other countries) allows up to 1km.

- Skylink : we have been using it also and if you get no more than 150 meter there is a problem, you might need to contact Amimon or check that you do not use another 5GZ / 5,8GZ TX (analog) at same time on your copter. Remember that the link distance is in line of sight..

- Range: there is an built in algorithm that calculates the distance (line of sight) between ground unit and air unit. At 1000 meter, signal is cutoff automatically for safety reasons.

- Price: This unit is mostly for professional aerial video / photography and allow to have a clear and sharp picture on the ground when working. But it cana also be used for broadcasting for example. Price is very competitive compared to other units on the market and opens finally full HD downlink, uncompressed , to affordable budget .

- Firmware : the unit has a USB port and there is already a small software to choose link stability / high quality, check for linked units...

- Rumors : i won't talk about it too much, but some work is going around the Zenmuse GCU HD output at the moment....

- Compatibility : the Connex will be able to read the Greasy gimbals telemetry as they have built in Mavlink telemetry.. Interesting thing...

The key benefit of the Connex is for example to use it for aerial site survey with a Pixhawk / APM / Autoquad and use the MAVLINK telemetry on it. On 130 grams only, you get a full HD downlink and believe me, when you make a demo to industrial with having a Full HD ( Optima HD33) video projector with 4 meter diagonal screen as a ground live view, they just stay speechless especially if you have a well tuned brushless gimbal or a Zenmuse / Movi ...

The full manual final revision is finished but i musk ask the Tech Support Manager at Amimon if we can release it on forums yet, it has all informations inside.

For Gael : yes, i can make a small review on MK-FR, but to before next week

And my 2 cents : i mounted it on a small FPV racer, it's just insane with full HD googles )))

Best regards,
Fabien

 

[SleepyC]

I'm not fooling anyone today. $1599 is more than what my whole hexacopter cost, lock and stock.

This is obviously not for you then. I am renting a 2000 ft system for 1/3 the cost of this entire unit for 2 days! This is an amazing price. The Paralinx Tomahawk is around $6000 for 2000 ft!

 

[dark_star]

It is an interesting system but no SDI version.

 

[E-Copter]

HI, the SDI version is actually the Skylink. Connex is a new product, but for sure if they have success i do not see why they wouldn't think in a SDI version. But well, it's is still less cheaper to use a SDI converter rather than buy a SDI enable unit at the moment )))
BEst regards,
Fabien

 

[eskil23]

I'm not fooling anyone today. $1599 is more than what my whole hexacopter cost, lock and stock.

This is obviously not for you then. I am renting a 2000 ft system for 1/3 the cost of this entire unit for 2 days! This is an amazing price. The Paralinx Tomahawk is around $6000 for 2000 ft!

No, I guess it is not. The only thing it offers me that I don't already have (for a fraction of the price) is HD resolution. Range is not a problem. I get the same range with my 200 mW 1.3 GHz tx with cp-antenna.

 

[axi]

Hi Tim, nice to see you here
And my 2 cents : i mounted it on a small FPV racer, it's just insane with full HD googles )))

Best regards,
Fabien

Thank you very much for the info Fabien! I'm so eager to have this thing!
How it fits on 250 size? What size do you recommend for FPV flying with this unit?
vTX would be sold separately, with what pricetag?
Crashes with GoPro and this vTX are going to be a pray to the lord..

 

[E-Copter]

Hi,
the unit is pretty compact ( well everything is relative lol) and solid. I did build a over motorized Little Spider to have fun with it, but 250 size seems a bit limited in term of power.. I would rather go atlas for 350 is or around...
Spare units tx / rx should be available ( RX for sure) , i'll ask Amimon but well not a lot of people will spend money for FPV racing with that kind of unit i guess lol !!!!

 

[axi]

Hi,
the unit is pretty compact ( well everything is relative lol) and solid. I did build a over motorized Little Spider to have fun with it, but 250 size seems a bit limited in term of power.. I would rather go atlas for 350 is or around...
Spare units tx / rx should be available ( RX for sure) , i'll ask Amimon but well not a lot of people will spend money for FPV racing with that kind of unit i guess lol !!!!

I have 1:7 thrust/weight ratio on my minis, so plenty of power, I hate to crash bigger ones because always brokes something and I have to spend time rebuilding...
People it's already flying with their GoPro 3-4 cameras for +300-400$ bucks without fear and only using some protective lenses. With the proper mount care, surronded by foam and other protective methods...
But I guess I should use something around 400 size, I already had preordered a unit of the new headplay HD goggles... What goggles are you using?

 

[dark_star]

HI, the SDI version is actually the Skylink. Connex is a new product, but for sure if they have success i do not see why they wouldn't think in a SDI version. But well, it's is still less cheaper to use a SDI converter rather than buy a SDI enable unit at the moment )))
BEst regards,
Fabien

Hi Fabien,

Yes, we have SDI & HDMI skylink. But would have been nice to have both options for Connex as well. The prototype unit I saw seems less quality/robust construction as skyline as well. But also ⅓ the cost, so it's understandable.

 

[ovdt]

Fabien,

"Range: there is an built in algorithm that calculates the distance (line of sight) between ground unit and air unit. At 1000 meter, signal is cutoff automatically for safety reasons."

Can you please tell more about this safety feature. How come this is a safety feature?